Sunday, 23 October 2011

House on a rock - Rhode Island

Clingstone, a 103 years old mansion in Rhode Island, arranged in retro style, is one of the most unusual homes around the world. It sits above the water, over a cliff that serves as foundation.

Henry Wood, the owner, manages the home with dedication and skill, enjoying family and friends help. The Rhode Island port is hosting the family’s boats and floating dock, sheltering them during winter, in exchange of using the house for one week during the summer.

Mr Wood, a 79 year old architect from Boston, bought the house, along with his former wife, Joan, in 1961, for 3,600 dollars. It stayed uninhabited for 20 years. Clingston was built by a distant cousin, JS Lovering Warton. He worked with an artist, William Trost Richards, to create a three-story house with 23 rooms, to throne the rock of Narragansett Bay. The total cost of construction, completed in 1905, were $ 36,982. Today, the mansion is valued at 4 million dollars.

The house is maintained by an ingenious method: the “Clingstone working weekend”. Held each year around Memorial Day, gathers around 70 friends and Clingstone admirers to perform maintenance tasks, like cleaning the 65 windows of the house. Currently Clingstone holds ten bedrooms, each with a spectacular view and the dining room offers 14 seats.